Sweet Spot
by Acethepenlord
Summary: A phone call leaves Mike uncertain of himself until he stumbles upon a small batting cage and its sole occupant...


Sweet Spot

There was an awkward pause

"Sandy, I hope you know that I love you."

"I..I love you too Maishul."

The line abruptly went silent as Mike sighed and stared at the phone. The dial tone of the phone rang in Mike's ears while thoughts passed in his mind. The conversation he just had with Sandy started well, they exchanged pleasantries and talked about their day's events, but as the call dragged on Mike could hear in Sandy's voice what he thought was an edge of weariness. This prompted him to fearfully blurt out how much he wanted to see her and that he was working on a way to get to Rickter. Her reply was a faint. "I hope you can come someday Maishul" followed by the uncomfortable silence which ended with Mike saying he loved her.

He replaced the phone on the receiver and laid back on his bed, his eyes closing for contemplation. Was his relationship with Sandy somehow failing? They talked all the time but she always seemed so distant to Mike, as if while speaking to Mike her mind was on, well, everything but him. The most frustrating part of it all for Mike was that he couldn't do anything more than he already was. He already called her at every opportunity, sent her gifts in the mail, and that was his limit. He didn't have the money to go to Rickter and even if he did, he knew that his parents wouldn't let him.

When it came down to it, the thought of losing her terrified him. He had somehow isolated himself from some of his friends because of her, and while he didn't necessarily regret telling off Lucy, infact that was something he needed to have done, he could feel that the rift created between the two was pushing the group apart. It was almost funny how trying to hold onto Sandy was causing him to his grip on what he already had.

A sharp ringing drew his attention back to the phone. With a look of excitement in his eyes he grabbed the device and hurriedly brought it to his face. "Sandy?" He asked in his fervor. Perhaps she wanted to call him back, have a more meaningful…

"Wrong guess."

Mike's heart sank. He had been a fool to get his hopes up, for it only lead to this incredible disappointment. "What do you want Lucy?" he grumbled with a hint of anger.

The reply was a few moments in coming, but it was tinged with just as much animosity. "It's not like I wanted to call you, but Sue needs you to have Act III memorized by Friday."

"And why couldn't she just call me herself?"

"I don't know, she just told me to tell you and… look I'm done." And with that the phone once again went silent.

This time Mike slammed the phone back onto the receiver with a loud, "clack" and glared at the device. It had delivered to him nothing but sad thoughts about losing Sandy and angry reminders about seeing Lucy this evening. In short, he needed to get away from it.

He wrapped his scarf tightly around his neck and took one last disgusted look at the phone before stalking downstairs to find his mother in the kitchen. He stopped and addressed her, figuring he didn't want to just disappear on her.

"Mom, I'm going out for abit okay?"

Mike's mother was busy looking over some papers with a look of concentration on her face that was dispelled by Mike's interruption. She put a soft smile on her face to address him but this as well fell from her face as she saw the look on Mike's. "Honey, are you okay? You look like something is wrong."

Mike sighed and composed himself. "I just want to take a little walk outside is all."

His mother's expression didn't change but she nodded her head reluctantly. "It's already dark outside so don't be out too long okay?"

Mike nodded his head and said, "I won't mom." He then gave her a hug and she planted a motherly kiss on his cheek, smiling as he groaned and pulled away from her. With a shake of his head he turned to the front door, opened it, and stepped outside.

A cold wind buffeted Mike's face as he closed the door behind him, his scarf fluttering in the early winter gust. A full moon hung in the sky, booming over Mike, yet illuminating him to the world around. It hadn't snowed for a few days, but the remnants of dead grass and the small pools of water from the melt were apparent. Possibly the most noticeable feature though, was the silence. He was the only one on the streets tonight and their emptiness just reinforced the stillness of the night. With a puff of air made visible by the cold, Mike crossed his arms and set off on the sidewalk. He didn't really have a destination in mind; he just took a swing to the left and started walking straight ahead.

He didn't speak a word as he trudged onwards, and the sidewalk's only retorts were the sounds of his own footsteps upon the cold concrete. Occasionally he'd walk under a streetlight and the blinding fluorescent light seemed to mock the moon's luminescent gift while the hum of power coursing through the post became an affront to the quiet that pervaded the night. Mike spent little time in their presence, walking faster to escape their reach when they appeared.

As he walked he thought, or to be more exact, he thought about avoiding thought. Every delicate dance of the moonlight reminded him of Sandy and every blast of wind that rattled his bones brought his mind back to Lucy. He took this walk to rid himself of these emotions, at least for a time, but in the end everything around him just set him back to where he started. Why couldn't it be easy? Why couldn't he just have Sandy in his arms as he did in his heart and Lucy merely as a mutual friend? Both ideas seemed like fantasies to him now.

A car speeding past from behind broke him from his questioning with another rush of freezing air, making him shiver despite himself. He watched as the car turned a corner and sped out of sight, the noise of the car fading into the distance. He sighed and continued his walk when with his sensitive hearing he heard the faintest "crack" coming from the direction the car had went. He froze in place. Did that car just crash? Was someone hurt? His paralysis was only temporary and he shook his head, steeled himself, and broke into a dead run.

The night air howled in his face as he ran, numbing his face and deafining his ears, leaving him with only the sounds of the wind and his own heart, rushing blood through his body. He scanned the terrain in front of him, looking for signs of an accident, anything, and became increasingly dismayed at the continued stillness of the night. He forced himself to stop, panting as the strained to listen for any sounds of the accident.

Nothing, just the sounds of his breathing and the stillness of the neighborhood And then, "crack."

He stiffened. It was the same sound as before, although it sounded much closer. He looked around and still saw nothing to indicate trouble when another "crack" filled the air. It was still faint, but he heard another, and then another, in an almost perfectly timed rhythm. It was too perfect to be something like an accident so, what was it?

Entranced, Mike followed the noise down a path into a park, his ears twitching as he came ever closer, when the "cracks" finally came to a peak he stopped and took in what he saw. He found himself looking at a batting cage. It was a smaller structure, with only about four pitching machines, but the whole set up looked to be in very good condition. Bright lights illuminated the entire place, casting out the night. There was only one batter using the facilities, but they were too far away to really tell what the gender or race was at this distance however, however he was fairly certain it was a cat.

Mike had honestly forgotten that there was a batting cage here and he shook his head and chuckled to himself as he moved in for a closer look. Of course, the sound wasn't something as unlikely as a car crash! He felt foolish for even thinking like that. He took in a deep breath as he reached the cage and took a closer look at the lone batter. The figure, who he could tell was a female cat now, took stance, readied, and swung in time with the machine's pitch, sending the ball flying into the outer reaches of the cage, to clatter back down and funnel into the pitching machine to repeat the process. Every time she swung the bat it was with a deep precision and a graceful skill that caught Mike's breath in his throat.

Soon enough however, the machine sputtered and slowed down, finally grinding to a halt. The batter lowered her implement and leaned it gently against the cage wall before removing her helmet. Strands of silvery white hair fell gently from the helmet, a sharp contrast to her mostly black fur. Her most striking feature however were he bright green eyes that seemed to sparkle in the light of the cages. She smiled weakly and wiped some sweat off her forehead before grabbing a bottle of water set in a bag just on the other side of a chain link fence separating a waiting area from the actual batting arrangement.

Mike blinked as he got a better look at her and then started, blurting out, "Jasmine?"

The girl jumped and looked behind her, grabbing another bat hidden in her bag and brought it to bear. She as well blinked when she got a better look and her eyes went wide while her mouth opened incredulously as she stuttered a reply. "Oh! I know you! You're Paulo's friend, uh, Mike right?"

Mike nodded his head and put his hand on the cage fence. "Yeah, I guess so, sorry if I startled you."

She giggled slightly and put the bat back before grabbing her water bottle again. "It's fine, I just thought anyone out here at this time would be some kind of criminal"

Mike chuckled nervously as he rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, no, thankfully not haha…" He coughed. "You were really good though, you must practice out here a lot?"

Jasmine gave a nervous laugh and looked down. "Yeah I guess so. I like this place, it's usually quiet and never really crowded." She made a small smile. "But I really come out here when I need to think."

Mike frowned slightly as he watched the tuxedo cat from the other side of the fence. He didn't notice at first, but now that she sat there, looking so vulnerable, he noticed a hint of sadness in her smile and tone of voice. He looked around awkwardly before asking, "May I come in?"

Jasmine looked up from the floor and blinked at Mike. "Of course! What's stopping you?"

"N, Nothing I guess?" Mike stammered before starting to the cage door, which he opened inwards, placing him again only a foot from Jasmine, this time without the chain-link fence between them.

Jasmine looked into his eyes and they shared an awkward gaze, neither of them speaking. Mike could feel the tension oozing from the situation and desperately grabbed at any topic he could find. His focus solidified as he found a subject to close upon.

"So, Jasmine, if it's just you out here, why do you have two baseball bats? He said while pointing at the handle sticking from Jasmine's bag. Her other still lay against the inner cage wall.

She looked at the bat for a moment and a gleam came to her eyes. She pulled the bat out and held gently in her hands. It was a well made wooden bat that had obviously been used for some time as there were small marks made from contact with baseballs. "Well that's because any true player knows that there's an area on every bat called the, "sweet spot." If you can hit the ball in this spot you get the best power, control, and it leaves less vibration on your hands." She swung the bat gently in her hands. "This wooden bat here has a smaller sweet spot than my aluminum bat over there, which is why major leagues don't use aluminum bats." She chuckled. "I know I should use this wooden bat more but I just felt like doing well tonight."

Mike nodded his head, amazed. "I didn't know that! You must know a lot about baseball."

Jasmine merely shrugged. "Well I play softball for the school, but to say I know a lot, well maybe that's abit much." She looked at Mike thoughtfully and then swung the wooden bat with one hand until it was in front of Mike's face. "Do you want to give it a shot?" She asked with a smile on her face.

Mike backed away with his hands in the air. "Oh, no, I don't want to mess with your bat or…"

"Nonsense!" Jasmine proclaimed and pushed Mike backwards with the bat until his back was against the fence door to one of the pitching machines. Mike glanced behind himself and sighed, raising his arm for bat. She gleefully put it in his hands and he turned to enter the cage when he heard Jasmine gasp, "Oh!" She ran over to her bag and grabbed her helmet and a handful of quarters, shoving them in Mike's arms when she reached him again, smile still on her face. Mike blinked and took the items, juggling them as he entered the cage.

The inside was a small cage that was separated from the two on its side's by small fences made of chain link. There was a small home base with rectangles on each side for left and right hand batters. Mike looked up and saw the pitching machine, and couldn't help but think of it as a sleeping beast, which would soon become agitated out of its slumber. He took the quarters and slipped them into a small slot on the right side of the door, each one clinking as it fell into place with others of its kind. When the last quarter was pushed in, a low hum pervaded the entire cage structure and his ears twitched slightly at the sudden noise of the machine warming up. He looked back at Jasmine who pointed at her head. Getting the hint, Mike tried to slip the helmet on his head but it ended up being a bit tight and he could only barely cram it over his ears. Jasmine giggled as he cursed, taking a stance at the plate, the helmet still placed haphazardly on his head. Mike tightened his grip on the bat, and prepared for the machine to begin. The machine made a noise and a ball flew out towards Mike, who swung his bat lightning fast and…missed?

The ball slammed past him into the cage, creating a horrible rattle that made his sensitive ears shudder. He prepared himself for the next ball though, but only scored a glancing hit, sending it flying to the left as a foul. He frowned. He knew he wasn't the best at baseball, but he wasn't BAD either, so why was this so hard? He looked at the bat. Of course! It was designed for a smaller user, so of course it wouldn't work for him the way he was used to. He readied himself this time, adjusting his grip on the bat, and when the next ball came he countered, sending the ball flying into the section labeled, "single" with a loud "crack."

Jasmine clapped her hands jubilantly behind him. "Well done! I wondered when you'd compensate for the size, and it was faster than I thought!"

Mike made to reply but was cut off when he had to swing at the next ball, sending it off into the single section again.

"So what are you doing out here this time of night?" Jasmine asked.

"What?" Mike tried to question but swung at the next ball instead.

"I know it's not that late yet but most people still aren't walking around here at this time you know?"

He hit the next ball. "Crack."

"It's just odd is all, especially in this cold, you must have had a good reason."

"Crack."

"I guess I'm just curious is all."

Mike hit the next ball, and was beginning to sweat slightly, despite the cold. However, he seemed to be getting into a rhythm similar to what Jasmine had before when she was batting which allowed him to reply in the next lull.

"I just wanted to get out of the house and well, just not really think about much of anything."

"Crack."

"It's just a lot of stress lately and I needed to relieve it."

"Crack." Sweat trickled down his brow.

"I mean, come on, it's not fair for me to have to deal with this. I don't deserve it."

"Crack." He gritted his teeth.

"Lucy constantly looking at me with those eyes, making me angry with her dependence."

"Crack." He growled.

"And all I want, is to see SANDY!"

He yelled her name as the final ball flew out of the machine. He slammed his bat into the ball with such force that the resounding "crack" echoed in his ears and caused a pain that he barely felt. The ball sped away in the blink of an eye but curved and ended its flight in the foul section.

As the machine wound down, Mike stood there, panting. He lowered the bat and rested it on the wall and pulled the helmet off, letting it drop to the ground. Frustration seeped out of him. He had gotten so worked up and didn't even realize it. While he swung he was entranced by the beat of the machine that became a harmony in time with the swing of his bat. The resulting explosion of sound was the release of his emotion. He suddenly stiffened and looked behind him, shame on his face as he looked at Jasmine.

Jasmine had a stern look on her face, standing on the other side of the fence. Her eyes locked with Mike's for a brief instant and he thought he saw a hint of sadness on her expression before she turned to her bag and fished out another handful of quarters. She thrust some out towards Mike through the fence, forcing him to quickly juggle the coins before they clattered to the floor. Jasmine deliberately moved away, even before he had the quarters firmly in hand, towards the adjacent cage which had her bat. She didn't speak, but started putting quarters slowly into the machine. Mike raised his eyebrow in confusion but decided to follow her lead and put the quarters into his cage's slot as well. They both inserted their last quarter at the same time, and both pitching machines hammered to life in unison. Mike didn't bother with the helmet this time, and it didn't appear that Jasmine much cared for protection either, as she focused on the machine in front of her, stance just as practiced as before. Mike turned his focus back to the pitch and swung with a success at the first ball, Jasmine doing the same, sending the balls away. The two were silent for a time with the only sounds being the hum of the machines and the cracks of their bats upon the balls. In this, Mike became focused, preparing, swinging, and preparing again.

"So, this Sandy is your girlfriend, right?"

Mike wasn't expecting it when Jasmine's voice broke his concentration and he missed the ball that flew past him, clattering against the cage fence. Jasmine took no head of this and continued to look straight forward, ready for the next pitch.

He regained his composure quickly and turned his eyes back ahead before replying. "Yeah? She is, but I… Well why do you want to know?"

The two swung at the next volley.

Jasmine didn't change her stance but Mike could feel something somber in her voice when she began to speak again. "You know, Paulo is a great guy at heart, even if he doesn't show it all the time. It made me so excited when he asked me out back in October. I mean, this big, dashing softmore asking out someone like myself? A freshman? I thought it was like a dream come true."

Another pitch, another pair of hits.

"We have a lot of fun together, Halloween, the student council race… but at the same time we also have our faults, we fight sometimes but… there's also something there that's unsaid between us."

Mike dared to take a glance at her and his heart skipped a beat when he noticed the faint inkling of moisture in her eyes. His attention was brought sharply back to the machine as they both smashed their next prey away from them.

"You know, we try out best to see each other during school, but it's tough. We don't share a lunch, any classes, or even travel the same hallways at times. We do our best but some days we never even see each other."

Swing and a hit.

"And outside of school? That's even rarer, but I suppose that's partly my fault with softball, homework, treasurer duties, and yet even without them it seems as if whenever we try, nothing ever happens."

Mike's ears twitched as he heard a sniff come from Jasmine, but when he turned her stance was a sure as it always was. This little glance caused him to miss the next ball, and he cursed softly to himself. Jasmine however, did not miss hers.

She continued in the next lull. "It's just, it's just frustrating, and depressing, and…and… I don't even know." She now had tears streaming down her face. "And the way he looks at Daisy and Lucy sometimes, it's almost as if… as if I don't even have a boyfriend!"

The final ball of the machine flung forwards and Jasmine took a great step forward into the swing, increasing the power, and the ball was repelled violently to the farthest reach of the cage, bouncing off the section labeled, "Home Run" and rolling down slowly into the machine, as if defeated. She started sobbing and her bat slipped from her grip, clattering to the ground of the cage.

Mike wiped sweat off his brow while the machines began to quiet down. His arms shook slightly and he lowered his own bat, letting it slink to the floor. His heart ached when he saw Jasmine standing there, only feet away from him, but isolated by the fence into her own little world. He bowed his head at the display, feeling ashamed. He thought he was the only one suffering these problems, that only he could possibly feel this way. Yet here was a girl right in front of him that felt this pain, possibly even more acutely because her other half was right in front of her and at the same time was so distant. He watched her shakes and sobs in silence before shaking his head and walking around the fence into her section of the cages.

Jasmine looked up at him as he entered, and she was barely able to stammer out, "What are you?" before Mike embraced her.

Her eyes went wide and she gasped at the sudden movement. She didn't protest however, she merely hung limply in his arms, sobbing.

Mike took in a deep breath and began to speak. "It's okay Jasmine, it's okay. I think I know part of what you are feeling, and I admire your strength for being able to handle it so well. Every time I see you, you have such a strong face on, and carry yourself with such confidence that I'd never know you feel this way. I wish I could be half that strong sometimes. I know we both face our own problems and that we must each confront them in our own way, but I believe that we can, no, we WILL, overcome them. It might take some time, but we'll get through these issues, and be stronger for it."

Jasmine returned the embrace suddenly, tears flowing fresh from her eyes. Mike could feel her body shaking in his arms as the sobs escaped her and it took all of his will to keep from shaking as well. They both stood there for a long time, neither moving beyond the slow, shaking sobs of Jasmine. Eventually her sobs petered out and she broke away from Mike, looking in his eyes.

"Thank you… I guess I needed that." She took in a deep breath and composed herself, wiping tears away with one hand. "You're right though, things will get better, I just needed some else to tell me that I guess." Wiping away the last tear she smiled up at Mike. "You know, you aren't half bad with that bat there. Maybe if you got one better suited to your arms, you could play for the school instead of just acting."

Mike laughed, dispelling the remaining shreds of tension in the atmosphere. "No, no I don't think I'm good enough for that."

Jasmine gave him a sidelong smirk as she picked up her bat. "If you say so." She looked out at the scenery outside the cage and sighed slightly. "I'm not sure what time it is, but I should probably head home before my parents get mad. Could you help me clean this place up?"

Mike nodded and the two picked up the balls that were strewn around the field, dumping them in a small repository in the corner. Mike grabbed the wooden bat and Jasmine's helmet as she began to pack up her bag. He handed her the helmet and she stowed it away but when he held out the bat to her she raised her hand to take it but stopped in mid-air. She lowered her hand slowly and looked up at Mike, a soft smile on her face.

"No, you keep it, I think you deserve it."

Mike blinked. "But I don't play baseball much and…"

Jasmine cut him off by shaking her head. "No, I want you to have it. Besides, the school has tons of bats like that, I can just use one of them."

Mike held the bat reverently and nodded his head. "I'll do my best to take care of it."

She giggled and stood, stretching before leading him to the outer cage doors. They exited and stood outside, back into the cold air of the night, yet still within the halo of light from the cages. Jasmine turned to face Mike, fully laden with her bag.

"Are you sure you don't want me to walk you home?" Mike asked.

She shook her head. "No, I'll be fine, besides…" She patted her bag. "I don't think anyone can get the best of me while I have my trusty bat." She looked away for a moment and a little color came to her cheeks. "Uhm, maybe I'll see you out here at the cages again sometime?"

Mike nodded and grinned slightly. "I'd like that."

Jasmine smiled widely and they both shared one last connection in each other's eyes before turning away slowly in unison and leaving for their respective homes.

Mike closed the door to his house behind him and his mother peaked her head out from the other room. "Oh, Mike sweetie, you're home! Ah, where did you get that bat?"

Mike hefted the bat looked at it for a moment before replying with a smile on his face. "I met a friend while outside and they gave it to me."

"Well that's nice, but you need to go to bed soon for school tomorrow dear." His mother said in a chiding tone. Mike nodded to her and headed for the stairs.

"Oh, honey?" She called after him.

Mike looked over his shoulder questioningly, the bat resting in his hand.

"I'm glad your little friend made you feel better."

Mike took in a deep breath and looked towards the front door. "Me too mom, me too." And with that, he opened the door to his room, laid on his bed, and stared at the wooden baseball bat grasped in his hand.


End file.
